May 9, 2012
Office Shade: 6 Things to Consider When Dealing with Workplace Politics
Everyone knows that office politics exist. And in any industry they play a major part in getting promotions and salary increases. For some professionals, how they play the game of career advancement can depend on several factors. Some keep it clean, governing themselves by ethics and moral limits, while others play dirty, willing to do almost anything to get ahead.
Madame Noire explores the complicated questions of ladder climbing and workplace politics, offering six questions one should ask themselves when navigating the career advancement waters.
How big of a part do values play? Although you might find your eyelids dropping it like it’s hot during the team member meeting, it’s just as important to listen to what’s said at the lunch table. Co-workers and management (which you may want to pay close attention to) often lower their guard during lunch since it’s a bit more casual and usually off-the-clock. You’ll come to learn a lot about their opinions and values. A comment like, “Well that Trayvon kid really shouldn’t have been walking around at night in a hoodie,†may have you looking at these people in a whole different light. Whether you’d like to believe it or not, values play a significant part in how you carry yourself professionally. Hopefully you’re employed with an organization whose values are a reflection of your own, but if not, do you really want to have to constantly worry that someone’s personal beliefs are responsible for biased business decisions?